First responders and other public safety professionals, as well as military and government emergency response personnel, provide relief services within unpredictable and hazardous environments. In an effort to improve safety and response efficiencies in such situations, wireless sensor networks are deployed to provide remote monitoring and situational awareness. These wireless sensor networks generally include various arrangements of sensors or sensor clusters that are provided at a location over an extended period.
Critical operational decisions within a relief effort often rest on the long-term reliability of such sensor networks. Therefore, among other requirements, wireless sensor networks and their related components require reliable, extended periods of operation. Unfortunately, current wireless sensor networks are unable to compensate for a partial network failure. Additionally, a low-power condition at one or more components throughout the sensor network, collectively, diminishes the overall effectiveness and reliability of the network. Poor sensor network conditions jeopardize the safety and optimal performance critical for making informed decisions within a mission-critical relief effort.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for reduced sensor power in a sensor network.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order illustrated. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.
Apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the various embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Thus, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, common and well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments.